Monday, 20 March 2017

Coronation Street Blog Interview: Anne Cunningham

I
recently had the great pleasure of interviewing the actress Anne
Cunningham. Anne is a true Coronation Street original, having played
Linda Cheveski, daughter of Street legend Elsie Tanner, in the very
first episode of Corrie back on 9th December 1960. I wanted to find out
more about how Anne started out as an actress, her experience of working
on Coronation Street and also other aspects of her career.

First
of all I'd love to know why and how you became an actor in the first
place.

Not
sure HOW I became an actor! Although born in England (Yorkshire) I
was educated in South Africa and there was little theatre there
except the National Theatre which needed you to be bi-lingual in
Afrikaans and English. I did pass my exams in Afrikaans as a subject
but was hardly fluent. However I had done “As You Like It” at
school and the drama teacher suggested I might train as an actor in
England at the Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama which offered
a course combining a 2 year teaching course with a 2 year acting
course in 3 years so that at the end as well as being a trained actor
I was also a trained teacher. This appealed to my parents and I duly
applied and was accepted. As it turns out I have never had to teach.

How
did you come to be cast in Coronation Street in the part of Linda?

I
was appearing in weekly rep in Buxton as leading lady when the stage
manager said he was asking the casting director from Granada to come
and see the show as he had a small part in it. “Roar Like a Dove”
So I sent a letter asking her to look at me too.

As
luck would have it she wasn’t able to come that week but came the
following one when I was playing TWO parts ( twins) in Grand National
Night which needed Northern accents. I spoke to Margaret Morris in my
dressing room during the interval whilst doing a quick change and
hoped she’d remember me.

When
back in London a couple of months later she contacted me and I met
Stuart Latham at the Granada Offices in Golden Square in London. I
was asked to do a test in Manchester.

What
are your memories of that first live episode of Coronation Street in
December 1960?

I
had never done television before. In fact I didn’t have a tv set!
Having only ever done theatre “live television” was not much
different...you couldn’t stop! The only difference was acting to
the camera.

The
Tanners made an immediate impact in the show. What was it like to
work with those actors?

I
loved the first year of the Tanners. We were a real “family”
spending time on and off the screen together. I still regard Philip (Lowrie, who played Dennis Tanner)
as my brother (both being only-children) and I also see Ernst
Walder (Ivan Cheveski) regularly although he now lives in his home country of Austria.

Coronation
Street had many memorable original characters. My favourites from
that era are Annie and Jack Walker, played by Doris Speed and Arthur
Leslie and Ena Sharples, played by Violet Carson. What were they like
to work with?

Doris Speed, Arthur
Leslie and Vi Carson were very much the older and respected members
of the cast as were Margot Bryant and Lynne Carol.

In
1963 you played Judith in the film This Sporting Life, with Richard
Harris and Rachel Roberts. What was that film like to be a part of?

I
left the Street at the end of 1961 feeling that a year in a soap was
long enough as there was so much I had yet to do..film, West End,
radio etc. As luck would have it the North was BIG ! Saturday Night
Sunday Morning.
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner etc. So it wasn’t too
big a step when Lindsay Anderson cast me as Judith in This Sporting
Life. I loved working with him. He had a way of directing an actor
which made you feel YOU had thought of what he wanted so everything
was relaxed and easy.

Also
apart from Rachel I was the only girl on location and was very
spoiled!

In
1964 you worked with Roy Kinnear on the series World of His Own. What
was Roy like to work with?

I
had worked with David Croft on a Light Entertainment programme called
“Impromptu” which was one of the first programmes on the new
channel BBC 2. After the success of That Was The Week That Was Roy
Kinnear was offered a show of his own to star in A World of His Own
and David cast me as his wife. His character was to be called Stanley
Blake and I was to be his wife Helen.

The
set designer was called Darrol Blake and HIS father was called
Stanley, so when he was asked to design the first set “Stanley
Blake’s bedroom” he said “This is where I came in” !! I LOVED
working with Roy. He was a very generous actor and a wonderful comic
feed. We laughed so much during rehearsals...and during the
takes...that I am surprised David Croft didn’t explode!...mind you
he was good at laughing too!

Darrol
only designed the first series but in 1965 I married him and am now
Mrs Blake...again!

You
have appeared in many classic television shows over the years,
including The Avengers, Z Cars and The Fall and Rise of Reginald
Perrin. Do you have fond memories of these programmes?

As
a jobbing actor one had no idea which job would resonate with the
audience and become “iconic”. It was just another job. The
Avengers, The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin and Are You Being Served STILL
produce an income of about £25 annually but I can’t say I remember
them more than “Casanova” with Jeremy Brett “Poor Bitos” with
John Neville or “The Physicists” with Roger Livesy and Mary
Morris which were never seen again!

In
1973 you worked on a series of the Dick Emery Show. What was Dick
like to work with?

Dick Emery was a
nightmare to work with! A little man with all a little man’s
complexes. Also he was Variety and jealous of any laughs not got by
him! He would deliberately “fluff” if I got a laugh so that there
would be a retake and the studio audience having heard the gag the
first time wouldn’t laugh so much on the retake.

You
returned to Coronation Street in 1984 for a short stint. How did that
experience compare with your time on the show in the 60s?

I
can’t say I enjoyed my return to the Street in 84 as much as I had
hoped. The director wondered if I could do the accent and the Green
Room had grown so large that the regulars had little booths so there
was little contact. There WERE still rehearsals, unlike now, so that
you could get an idea of where you fitted into the whole episode but
the ‘family” feeling had gone.

Do
you still keep up with the Street today and would you ever consider
returning to the show?

Hearing
my friend Philip’s experience of life on the Street now I have no
desire to return.

Of
all the roles you have played during your career, which are you most
proud of and why?

My
favourite part in my career has to be Helen Blake. It was a comedy
role with many characters and a wide range of accents, working with a
true gent and meeting the love of my life! We have just celebrated 51
years of happy marriage producing 3 daughters and 4 grandchildren!
Success.

I
would like to thank Anne very much for taking the time to answer my
questions. It really was a thrill to be in touch with someone who was
there right at the beginning of one of my all time favourite television
series.